- Especially Adiala Jail
Nawaz’s usual outbursts outside the accountability court are now little more than shots in the air and he is reduced to repeating the same accusations as the NAB references are coming full circle. The talk of Adiala Jail, therefore, was no coincidence; he knows, after all, just which blanks his counsels have been unable to fill despite repeated chances. And, just as the prospect of sinking into oblivion stares him in the face, there’s also the party tearing at the seams and rumours of more ‘lotas’ about to switch parties becoming stronger by the hour. But how much of this could Nawaz have avoided?
Back in the day, in what now seems a long time ago, Nawaz rubbed his ‘heavy mandate’ in the face of the opposition as his loyalists extended their reach from the centre to Punjab to Balochistan. Yet then he became seemingly too big to have time for smaller partners, just as he began treating parliament with disdain, and now that push is coming to shove he is surprised that some of those he ignored most are abandoning him. And whether or not there is any truth in Khursheed Shah’s allegation – that Nawaz came to power in ’13 through a back-door deal – it is true that his party was allowed a much freer campaign; and that too by the Taliban. TTP targeted ANP, PPP and MQM rallies repeatedly, yet not only spared PTI and PML-N but also appreciated them.
Now the party is clearly in a dilemma. And there is, quite clearly, a tug of war between the old guard and some new blood (which has found favour with Maryam Nawaz) even as the sword of further defections looms. Nawaz, still, openly chose to tilt towards the Talal Chaudharys of the party; appreciating them as the true spirit of the Muslim League. That, of course, will only deepen other cleavages in the party, particularly as Shahbaz Sharif begins to assert his presidency over it. It seems that with his clash with institutions and string pulling within the party, Nawaz just wants to create a lot of noise just because he, personally, is going down. Perhaps he will have a lot of time to ponder what could have been handled differently if his apprehensions, especially about Adiala, come true.
